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[adamantlyardent]

The hour is late and prime for introspection of a somber nature. Perhaps some of you awake will be keen on entertaining a question or two in that vein to pass the hours. I may yet be too young and naive to even presume to ask, but then...no one is being forced to answer me, either.

I assume many among us found themselves here in the midst of or proceeding important events -- the sort of which may be quite excruciating or merely troublesome to be interrupted. Yet for most, the days come and go -- many, many sunrises and sunsets, idle hours and chaotic seconds aplenty.

At what point did you give up on the dreams deferred by your untimely arrival in this realm? Or, if you still cling true to them, what is your breaking point? Do you know how long you're willing to cling to that which you cannot return to of your own will?

Perhaps it's the other way around, though: Those who had no hope which to speak of then...when did you begin to hold and pursue dreams in this world? Have you even begun?

Comments

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[andromedas]

There's nothing wrong with deep, introspective questions. As a community, we might not all agree on much...of anything, possibly ever in some cases, but I don't see why we can't help each other out when it's needed.

And, uh, I guess some goals are pretty transferable to this place. Seek out knowledge, protect life, blah blah. No mining for precious minerals yet, but I'm waiting for that shoe to drop.

I guess—moving forward doesn't have to be giving up. Gotta find something here to stoke the hope fires, after all.

[adamantlyardent]

I would be inclined to agree with you in regards to aiding one another, however, I've already noticed several exceptions in action within the "community," as it were. I don't enjoy cynicism to such a degree, but I now know better than to trust anyone at face-value. Present company included, I'm afraid: All fronts are fiction until proven otherwise.

How fortunate to have ambitions so easily pursued despite the change of space. Congratulations.

[andromedas]

That's pretty healthy, isn't it? Don't just take anyone else's word for it; question until you find out your own truth, whatever that is. Something I probably could've done more on a few planets. (Kadara, mainly Kadara.)

And yeah, not everyone will go along with it. Conflict and hostility, violence and bloodshed are found in whatever galaxy you travel to. But if you believe in something, and work toward that dream, maybe one day it'll come true.

Thanks, I think? That's me, pursuing the pursuiable. Presumably.

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[am_i_a_monster]

My biggest dream was just to have a normal life. I got that when I was brought here. I started to have bigger dreams later, when I made friends that were like family to me. They let me feel safe enough to do more and start a music career. They're gone now but the memory of them helps me to continue on.

[adamantlyardent]

I do hope you'll forgive me for being pedantic, but what constitutes "normal" in this case? Especially considering the nature of this realm.

[am_i_a_monster]

Normal for me is having a job, being able to go outside, to make friends, all the things I couldn't do before. This world has a lot of new things for me, but I have the same right to explore them as everyone else. That feels more normal than back home, where I felt different than everyone else and I couldn't have any kind of life.

[monster_san]

[oh man. cecelia. do you need some tea.]

I don't know if I've reached that point. My own Earth still doesn't seem too far distant, even though I've been on this one for about a year and a half. There are many who have been here longer. But even when they are here longer, it's not uncommon to be dropped back off, spend months at home, and be brought back here having lost only a week.

It's a difficult question. If you cling too hard to wishes of going home, you risk stagnating here--but it's important not to forget home, either. Even if my time here is wholly at the whim of Miss Porter, I know I don't wish to forget how important my loved ones at home are.

[adamantlyardent]

I'd hardly vouch for anyone to completely disown their lives where they came from it if it at all matters, Fuu. I meant more the matter of ambitions -- plans, dreams, what have you. Is everyone ever-so-flexible here as to not be troubled about having to change gears to suit a whole new world? Or is it that whatever it was before is just so easily transcribed here?

[monster_san]

I think it depends a great deal on what kind of world they're from originally. America is strange to me, and 2019 is strange to me--but they're simply foreign, not alien. At home, I wanted to become a software engineer, and that path is still open to me. I'm even improving my English, which I had started studying in school back home.

But for you, I imagine, and others, this world is nothing like what they knew before. If the choice is between feeling lost or diving further into this deep end you've been thrown into... some people are just more inclined to do the latter.

[by_candlelight]

In my case I had no real chance of a life in my original world. I was actually seeking a way to leave that world and go to another. The only bad thing about being here, aside from the terrorists, is that I could be sent back at any time and I wouldn't remember a thing. I'd just go back to being someone with nothing to live for but the vague hope that I can find a god both capable and willing to send me to another world.

Here though, well. Here I don't have a target on my back, and if people want to kill me it probably has more to do with what I am than who I am. I have the chance to go to doctors who I can be reasonably sure won't give me cyanide instead of a vaccination. I don't have to worry about pharmacists giving me doses of things that would kill me should I ever end up in need of medications. I can go to school! An actual school! Which, well. Didn't work out all that great the last time I went to one, but hey, I'm pretty sure abductions from schools are a lot less common here, especially since I plan to go to H.O.P.E. this summer.

Compared to my world where the options available to me are minuscule, I can do whatever I want here. With like, you know, a few exceptions. I can train to be able to protect things instead of destroy them. I can plan parties that aren't just poorly disguised cult propaganda. Hell, if for some reason I ever get tired of fighting crap I could just up and decide to live a semi-average life, inasmuch as you can live an average life and still be a celebrity. No one is forcing me to fight here, for once in my goddamn life, and it's amazing.

[adamantlyardent]

I'm not meaning to make light of your plight, but what is it about you that enrages doctors and physicians?

[by_candlelight]

I was in a cult that sort of did a lot of serious damage. I was a really well known member, and people aren't too keen on believing that I was just pretending to be loyal to the cult while I snuck information out to the authorities. So the short of it is there are likely medical staff in my world who think they'd be doing the world a favour by killing me.

Which, I mean, I can't blame them? The act I put on was good enough to fool everyone for about eight years, and if it hadn't been an act it would probably be considered both an act of mercy and an act of protection to kill such a person. But I really want to not die for a while.

So basically I can't go to a doctor in that world for the same reason I can't go out to eat in that world wwwww.

[nightmarist]

my life is exactly the fucking same here

[adamantlyardent]

Are congratulations or condolences in order?

[nightmarist]

does it have to be one or the other

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[bodilesswarrior]

If you ask me, more young and naive people should ask questions like this.

I don't know how long I'll be here. But no matter what I do - statistically speaking, I'm going to end up back home eventually. And nothing that happened here will matter there. [As things stand now, at least, and she can't assume that she'll be able to change it.] Even if I stop thinking about those goals, those struggles, my priorities will rewind the moment I'm home.

So I'm choosing to focus on making whatever differences I can make here. I'm a teacher; once I've gone home, my students will still remember what I've taught them. [She's not just talking about computer science, but it's easy to let people assume.]

[adamantlyardent]

I would assume less considerate sorts would take advantage of the clean slate to sow chaos as they please, knowing full well it'll have no effect on them in the long run.

[bodilesswarrior]

If they're willing to take their lumps here first? Absolutely.

On the other hand, a clean slate is all some people need to make better lives.

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[marxionette]

When I woke up here as myself, that's when I started to feel hope again.
I'm still figuring out what it is I want here, but this place feels like somewhere I can really live a full and happy life.

[adamantlyardent]

[XION....................]

Have you written out a list of the things you want to do or see? It may assist you in putting your thoughts and expectations in line.

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[a_good]

I adapted my goals to take this world into account.

I'm sure it's not possible for everyone, but I expect a lot of people can at least keep some of their dreams.

[adamantlyardent]

Do the changes you had to make sour the satisfaction you have in pursuing them?

[a_good]

[No, but they make it lonelier. And more difficult to accomplish.]

Not at all. It's the end goal that matters.

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[dragony]

For me... I don't think it was about giving up on the things I left behind, or anything as sweet as hope for a future here. Going back means erasing everything that's happened since that day. Nobody takes their memories with them, after all. Going back means erasing all the people I've met, and known, and loved. I know it's selfish of me, but there's no part of me that's willing to abandon the memories I cherish.

So, I suppose... I stopped looking back, once I found something too precious to surrender.

I guess it sounds a little trite when I say it like that.

[adamantlyardent]

Trite can still be true. It's probably for the better, if you're doomed to be stuck here for time indeterminate, that you may as well have found reason to enjoy it.